Salesianum School rugby has been accepted as an associate member of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and will begin competing in the conference during the spring 2027 season. The school is located in Wilmington, Delaware.
Rugby has been an MIAA-sanctioned sport since 2007. The conference currently has four full-time member schools with varsity rugby programs: Archbishop Spalding, Calvert Hall, Loyola Blakefield and Mount St. Joseph.
Salesianum School Rugby Joins the MIAA
Salesianum School will enter MIAA rugby competition as an associate member in spring 2027. The addition will give the conference a fifth rugby program after John Carroll School discontinued its team following the 2012 season.
The MIAA had five rugby programs during its early years. Former John Carroll School principal Paul Barker helped lead the effort to establish rugby as an MIAA varsity sport in 2007.
Loyola Blakefield enters the 2027 season as the defending MIAA rugby champion and has won a league-record 10 MIAA rugby championships.
Chris Wells Established Salesianum School Rugby
Chris Wells founded Salesianum School rugby in 2009 and has remained the program’s head coach. Wells is a 1990 graduate of Salesianum School and previously played rugby at the University of Delaware.
Salesianum School won Delaware 7s state championships in 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2022. The program also won the Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union championship in 2010 and Delaware 15s state championships in 2016 and 2018.
The Salesianum School rugby program has traveled to Ireland and Argentina to compete.
Maryland Sports Blog Take
Salesianum School brings an established rugby program and championship experience to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Its spring 2027 debut will restore the conference to five rugby programs after John Carroll School’s team ended following the 2012 season.
Source: Original report
